Santa Cruz County Water Articles

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

A novel partnership recently visited Santa Cruz Harbor to equip local fisherfolk with first aid Don’t let the amputated thumb distract you. Not from the dangerous deck conditions brought on by heavy seas. Not from your spiking heart rate. Not …

A discrimination complaint filed by Native American tribes and environmental justice groups alleges that California has failed to protect water quality in the Bay-Delta. The EPA is investigating.

By M.C. Dwyer For about the last 5 years, Big Basin Water Company (BBWC), which serves around 500-600 customers, has regularly run out of resources to operate properly. The company, owned by Jim and Shirley Moore, is the definition of …

Waste would undergo extensive treatment and testing before it’s piped directly to taps, providing a new, costly but renewable water supply. The state’s new draft rules are more than a decade in the making.

Since June, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees has been considering a plan to retool its Visual and Performing Arts program at its 16 elementary schools, a proposal that includes splitting art teachers between most schools. The …

On July 13, the Highlands Park Senior Center was teeming with frustrated San Lorenzo Valley residents. Customers of Big Basin Water Company (BBWC) gathered—in-person and virtually—to get updates on the potential receivership being planned for the utility following years of …

By Julie Horner Work has begun on a project to improve Felton's Fall Creek ecosystem. The San Lorenzo Valley Water District has begun upgrading the 30-year-old Fall Creek Fish Ladder located at the end of Fall Creek Road near the …

Just two years after its formation, the Pajaro Regional Flood Management Agency is already at risk of splintering.

In a recent study, the City of Santa Cruz found high levels of a chemical that is lethal to Coho salmon, which once thrived in the San Lorenzo River but are now on the endangered species list.

For nearly three years, residents have been battling the area’s private utility provider for a basic service.

California will cut use of water from the Colorado River drastically under a new agreement announced by the Biden Administration on May 22. Nevada and Arizona have also agreed to the cuts.

The future of farming in California is changing as the planet warms, altering the rain and heat patterns that guide which crops are grown where. “We’re adjusting for survival,” one grower said.

Work has begun on the College Lake Integrated Resources Management Project on Holohan Road in Watsonville. The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PV Water) Board of Directors approved contracts to construct the project on Feb. 1. Heavy equipment has been …

Scotts Valley residents will be sippin’ on some fresh new water by the beginning of 2024 thanks to a plan to replace an existing well in May. The old 3B Well is on the decline operationally, and the Scotts Valley …

Almost one million California residents are forced to drink from contaminated water supplies, or pay for bottled water. Economic inequality makes the crisis worse. What is the state doing to fix it?

PAJARO—Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District, the agency that provides water to the Pajaro area, has lifted a do-not-drink order that came in the wake of the March 11 flood. The April 7 decision came nearly a month after the Pajaro …

When the Pajaro River flooded, nonprofit groups stepped up first to help victims. And they’ll keep helping, even after media coverage fades away.

Upgrades for earthquake safety, cycling planned for decades.

By M.C. Dwyer The Santa Cruz Association of REALTORS recently held an educational event about point-of-sale septic regulations taking effect in Santa Cruz County in July 2023. Mark Kinder of Affordable Septic, who’s installed thousands of systems, explained everything we …